Intersymbol interference (“ISI”) can be a significant source of error that adversely affects the data transmission speed and reliability of high speed communication applications such as OC-192 and 10 Gb Ethernet systems. The ISI is caused by imperfect communication channel conditions, such as lossy transmission lines and connectors.
The prior art is replete with various equalization techniques that address the problem of ISI. Both analog and digital equalizers have been developed, with the digital approach generally providing easier control, lower speed, and higher power operation. On the other hand, analog solutions generally result in higher speed and lower power operation. Unfortunately, prior art approaches, whether digital or analog, are limited to applications below the Gigabit per second range, especially for CMOS implementations.